Crossroads

I was walking to La Calesita, for Tete's birthday party milonga. La Calesita is a lovely outdoor milonga with a big parrila grill (barbeque). Loads of people old, young and famous turned out for that occasion.

That very night the wind was gushing. So it was a surprisingly cold summer night. I was wearing my white linen shirt and it really wasn't very warm. Silvina was walking in front of me hugging on tight to Andrea, hurrying along to the taxi. As I walked behind them looking up towards the starry sky and feeling the cold, suddenly I was brought back to the times as I was walking in the cold starry nights of Taiwan, as a soldier, on those countless night missions.

It brought a smile to my face. I close my eyes and I can almost smell the river banks of Chi Nui Ling, hear the footsteps of my fellow soldiers walking behind me; taste the combat ration butter biscuits; feel the cold cold taiwan nights blowing on my tired body. As I look up to the stars above me they looks exactly like the ones I looked up to so many years past.

Why do I miss those days? Days that remind me of the brash youthfulness, where men bare their souls to one another. Comradeship and caring for one another in the most simple and direct way.

As I get lost in this big city, I miss those days in the wild, the green, the nature. Where people are closer to their natural temperament as well. Days where everyday was a challenge to find the best in oneself, finding the true being in you.

In times like these, where most run away from the unpleasant sensations, I took a moment to savour the chill and thought about the good times...

August, Buenos Aires, through the introduction of Jean Michel, I met Hsueh Tze. She was Jean Michel's very first close embrace teacher many years ago in Boston. So that makes her my grandteacher... in a way.

I remembered my first dance with her, it was at Salon Canning. Not only she felt relaxed, balanced and calm, the thing that stood out most in her dance was that she could rapidly and accurately tell the style and emotions of my dance; she was always listening; observing, evaluating, feeling the characteristics of my dance. Sensitive and acutely aware of her partner, in turn communicate and feed her own energy through her body.

We met several times for lunch. Through our conversations I came to understand she really loved tango. Long before it was the fashionable dance, she came to Buenos Aires. When it was unknown and milongas were still the dark smokey affairs. She danced and learnt from the old milongueros of Buenos Aires, many of them already gone, like Gavito. I love to hear her stories and descriptions of the long gone legends of tango. Its like she was there to witness a passing of the old guard, abosorbing all their wisdom.

I took a private lesson from her during her last week in Buenos Aires. I have had tango explained through the traditional way, the old milongueros; I've had tango explained through the modern dance methodology; the nuevo dancers. But Hsueh Tze, with her extensive knowledge of physiology and biomechanics really helped clarified a lot of concepts. It related to me very much because I was a sportsman all my life. By pinpointing how the body muscular systems works, she could target the problem areas of my technique instantly.

To me, Hsueh Tze is unique. In her combination of sentiments and experience of the old guard, the modern and scientific teaching techniques. Topping it all off with a warm personality and genuine passion in the sharing of her knowledge.

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Here is a link of her site: http://www.bluetango.org/